Florida International University

Brandon A Aguiar

Arvind Agarwal

Cheng Zhang

Ambreen Nisar

Tony Thomas

Abhijith Kunneparambil Sukumaran

Erosion test rigs are provided for propelling dust and/or particles at high velocity and providing variable temperature ranges, as well as methods of using and fabricating the same. The erosion test rig can propel dust and/or particles at a velocity of up to 400 meters per second (m/s) and generate wide temperature ranges (e.g., from −196° C. to 200° C.) to simulate the harsh erosive conditions of planetary environments (e.g., Mars and Luna).

Erosion test rig for variable speed dust impact at extreme temperatures

The subject invention provides compositions, systems, and methods for additive manufacturing (AM), including three dimensional printing (3DP) using Digital Light Processing (DLP), of Lunar regolith and Lunar regolith simulants including Greenland Anorthosite Lunar Regolith (GALR) with a photocurable thermosetting polymer. Certain embodiments provide a high solid content of regolith, for example, about 60 wt. % GALR; together with a lower content of additives, for example, about 40 wt. % of a photocurable thermosetting polymer. Embodiments of the provided recipe and processing method can produce parts with low shrinkage, high strength, and favorable thermal properties. Parts have been produced with less than about 6% shrinkage in multiple directions of measurement.

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Miami, FL, United States of America

Brandon A Aguiar